One hell of a movie

I watched one last night. A HELL of a movie. An enchanting, singular movie. I haven't seen a movie that moved me so much in a long time. It's called "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont", and it is essentially both a love story and a hugely sensitive exploration into the complexities of old age. The love story part is not what one expects. It's not romantic love in the traditional sense, but the real love that exists in profound (and in this case, unexpected) friendships. In a nutshell, Mrs. Palfrey is an elderly, elegant widow, who moves to London and takes up residence in the shabby grandeur of the Claremont Hotel in Lancaster Gate. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young writer called Ludo, in circumstances both amusing and poignant, and the results are magical. I'll say no more, except to exhort everyone to watch this amazing, simple and exquisite film. I shall leave off with a quotation from the movie, which kind of sums much of it up. It brings a lump to my throat.

Mrs Palfrey says, "I've spent my entire life being somebody's daughter, somebody's wife, somebody's mother, and now, for this last part of my life, I just want to enjoy...simply being myself."